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Apollo Pavilion

Durham

Landscape / Sculpture, Regeneration

The Apollo Pavilion is a unique piece of public architectural art in the heart of the Sunny Blunts estate in Peterlee.

It was designed by Victor Pasmore as a gift to the people of the new town of Peterlee, of which he was consulting director of urban design between the 1950s and 1970s. It is a bold Constructivist sculptural space and the culmination of Pasmore’s artistic ‘experiments in total environment’.

Named in honour of the moon landings, the Pavilion acts as a folly/focal point, a ford across a shallow lake, and a place to ‘walk, linger and play’.

Made of reinforced concrete cast in situ, its design consists of large geometric planes of pale concrete, the only decoration being two oval murals.

Having suffered serious neglect and decline through the 1970s and 1980s, the Pavilion was lovingly restored in 2009 thanks to campaigning of local people and a securing a £300,000 Heritage Lottery Fund-grant.